What Lies Down the Road
by Sarcastic Texan
Summary: AU. It's the summer after senior year and Annabeth and Thalia are road tripping across the country. Thalia's there for the thrill, but Annabeth needs this trip-after the incident in high school the blonde hopes new places and new people can help her rehabilitate and forget her past. Summer nights, mild misdemeanors, hot lifeguards, ACDC, and adventure waits around every corner...
1. Caffeine and Iteneraries

**A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson or Heroes of Olympus Series... Enjoy the first chap and don't forget to review! Happy reading, ya'll!**

_June 1, 5:20 AM_

_San Francisco_

Annabeth had the patience of Job, but for this particular trip she wouldn't wait. It had been twelve hours since the eve of her high school graduation and she was already behind the wheel of her Firebird, cruising through San Francisco as the sun rose over the bay.

Though her gray eyes were calm, she mentally went over her check list:

_Emergency cash?_ Check. _Spare tire?_ Check. _First aid kit?_ Check. _Fire extinguisher?_ Check. _Cell charger?_ Check. _Road maps?_ Check. _Coffee?_ Annabeth glanced down at her cup holder, where a lone Styrofoam cup sat, steaming. The caffeine would be for Thalia, who had to drink the bitter liquid to be worth anything in the morning. Annabeth preferred tea.

The blonde nodded to herself. Yes, everything was in place. This trip would be perfect.

It took her a record seven minutes to get to Thalia's townhouse—a looming sky-blue-and-white structure that dwarfed the surrounding homes in the neighborhood.

The raven-haired girl was already waiting for Annabeth on the front porch. To the random passerby Thalia Grace was a lanky punk girl who looked like she went to metal concerts and tattoo parlors, although realistically she was a pleasant individual. Yes, her favorite color was black and yes, she may have been what many teachers called "a problem child", but underneath her rough-and-tough exterior Thalia had a kind heart. She stowed her duffel in the trunk and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Good morning!" Annabeth said brightly, handing her friend a red-and-brown Java Joe's coffee cup.

Thalia accepted it without a word and spoke after a few hearty gulps, wincing as the harsh liquid poured down her throat. "How can you be so enthusiastic at this hour?"

Glancing at the dash, Annabeth realized it was only half past five. "I'm just excited, Thals! This is our high-school road trip!" as she said this, she pulled into the street and started to head out of the city. "Just me, my best friend, and the open road."

Something blindingly white caught Thalia's eye—a piece of paper taped in front of her seat. "What's this?"

"The itinerary." Annabeth replied.

Thalia didn't know whether to spit out her coffee or laugh. "Annabeth, I thought the point of this trip was for us to be free—you know? No rules, no boundaries, no parental supervision?"

"I know. I just thought it would be nice to have a schedule. This way we can keep track of where we need to be and when we should be there and—"

Thalia reached out, peeled the piece of paper off the dash, crumpled it up, and rolled the window down.

"Thalia Grace, don't you dare!" Annabeth made a grab at the paper, jerking the steering wheel and making the car swerve erratically in the process.

Thalia glared at her friend, icy eyes boring into steel. "Fine. You do it."

"No!" Annabeth successfully snatched the paper away and tried to smooth it out against the steering wheel.

"Annabeth!" Thalia said sharply. "You promised me that on this trip you'd let go—You'd let go of high school, and everything else!" Annabeth winced. "This is the first step. Repeat after me: I am Annabeth."

"I am Annabeth." the blonde echoed, somewhat reluctantly.

"I am strong."

"I am strong."

"I don't need rules or itineraries to hold me back!"

"I don't need—hey!"

"Annabeth!" Thalia said sharply.

The driver sighed. "I don't need rules or itineraries to hold me back."

"Great! Now you take this," Thalia placed the crumpled itinerary in Annabeth's hand, "And throw it out the window."

"Thalia, do I really have to?"

"Yes."

The window slid down slowly, and after checking the rearview and heaving a dramatic sigh, the ball of paper disappeared in the breeze.

"Woo! Now we're talking!" Thalia cheered. She reached out and turned on the radio. ACDC came pouring over the speakers—_Shoot to Thrill_, a mutual favorite of the two.

They grinned at each other and started belted out the lyrics as the skyline of San Francisco shrank behind them.


	2. Secrets and Burritos

**A/N: What a beautiful night for an update! I'll start incorporating our favorite HoO and PJO characters within the next couple of chapters.**

******Disclaimer: I own nothing, blah, blah, blah... Aaand as always let me know what you think in a review, you lovely people!**

**Happy reading, yall!**

_June 1, 11:55 AM_

_Santa Monica_

"Thalia!" Annabeth hissed, nudging her sleeping passenger for the fifth time.

The human lump muttered something unintelligible into her elbow, which was propped against the windowsill.

"Thalia, you ass, get up!" still no response. "Thalia Grace if you don't wake up right now I will throw all of your _Iron Maiden_ CDs into the ocean."

Groaning and muttering curses, Thalia sat up and glared at Annabeth. "Don't even joke about that." She winced as she caught a glimpse of the sun through the window. "Ugh. So what was so important that you had to wake me up?"

Annabeth grinned. "We're here!"

Thalia squinted out the window. "Where's, 'here'?"

The blonde smirked. "Well you'd know if we still had my itinerary..."

"Don't be a smart ass, Annabeth."

Behind mirrored aviators, Annabeth rolled her eyes and suppressed another smile. "We're at the end of route sixty-six."

"Santa Monica?" Thalia asked.

"Mhm."

The Firebird slid into a vacant parking spot along the right side of the street.

"Our journey begins here." Annabeth proclaimed.

"Great. So why are we stopping?"

Annabeth waved a disposable camera at her friend. "To take cheesy commemorative tourist photos."

Thalia groaned. "Do we have to?" of course, she already knew the answer—once Annabeth set her mind to something, there was no stopping her, although that didn't mean Thalia would stop putting up resistance.

They climbed out of the car and convinced a random passerby to take their picture by a "Route 66" sign.

Upon later review, Annabeth would discover that in the photo Thalia had flipped the bird and that the man's thumb covered part of the lens, but even so it would be proudly displayed on her living room wall for the rest of her life.

* * *

_June1, 1:00 PM_

_Somewhere in California_

"Ugh. We should have stopped for lunch in L.A." Thalia groaned.

The noises coming from her stomach could be mistaken for an angry bobcat, but Annabeth remained optimistic. "I'm sure there's a town near here. Check the map."

Begrudgingly, Thalia unfolded a map and squinted at it for a moment before determining their approximate location. "It looks like we're near Barstow."

At that moment the Firebird passed a "Barstow 30 miles" sign. Annabeth stomped on the accelerator and covered the distance in fifteen minutes flat.

The girls got Mexican take out and ate on a picnic table in the park.

As Annabeth bit into her burrito, Thalia wrinkled her nose.

"Gods, Annie, what's in that thing?"

Annabeth chewed slowly before answering. "It's a three-bean burrito with onions, peppers, and jack cheese. Why?"

Thalia nearly gagged. "Are you serious? That's like a fart wrapped in a tortilla. We'll have to drive with the windows down for the rest of the trip!"

"Haha Thalia. You're the one who said this trip is about 'freedom', so here I am, embracing the freedom to eat whatever I want. So what if it comes in the form of a greasy burrito? It's delicious." Annabeth spoke as she chewed.

"I've got to admit, I'm sort of proud, Annie." Thalia said. "But what happens if we meet a cute guy and his nerdy friend down the road and you get the squirts mid-conversation?" she paused before answering her own hypothetical question. "You'll be thinking, 'Oh gosh darn that burrito. If only I'd gotten a nice cheese quesadilla like my awesome best friend Thalia.'"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I have never said 'gosh darn' in my life." she paused. "But if we do meet a cute guy and his nerdy friend, I get dibs on the cute guy. You always stick me with the nerd, and look at where that got me."

She'd meant to joke but her words sounded bitter and harsh. Thalia winced and looked down while Annabeth closed her eyes and counted to ten, a trick she'd learned from therapy.

"I didn't mean it like that." she said quietly.

Thalia broke the silence, carefully considering her words. "I'm so sorry about that Annabeth. But he's gone now—he's doing his time."

The blonde swallowed nodded slowly, solemnly. They finished their meal in silence.


End file.
